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Half-penny surgically removed from child, United Kingdom, 1914-1930

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Two hours after swallowing this coin, a three and a half-year-old boy was taken to hospital. X-rays showed the coin to be in his throat, but attempts to remove it using a bronchoscope merely pushed it into the stomach.
The coin was eventually removed 27 days later by surgeon Sir Cecil P G Wakeley (1892-1979). It is one of a number of ‘surgically removed objects’ which have been donated to the Wellcome collections.